Rocky/Behind the Scenes
Background Information Rocky was introduced as a way to feature more cranes, and has replaced the Breakdown Train since his debut. Following it's return in the form of Judy and Jerome, he appears at a semi-regular rate. Behind the Scenes Gauge 1 model Rocky's model was based off a Ransomes and Rapier 45-ton steam crane. It was built to approximately 1/32 scale and designed to run on gauge 1 track. The model's body was made from brass by model maker, Ray Lovell. The eye mechanism had two servos, one for up and down movement and one for left and right movement. The up/down servo was attached to the body. The left/right servo had a rod attached to the arm, which connected to a bracket. The eye balls were coupled to the bracket, and locked in by the face-plate, so whenever the servos were powered, the eye balls would move however the crew member desired. During the production of the tenth series, two models of Rocky were built. One was built with the support blocks intact when shooting scenes where Rocky lifted an engine back onto the rails. This model was also powered to move the wheelhouse, as well as his eye mechanism. The other model was built without support blocks and only powered his eye mechanism. The models were made out of brass and were powered by a DC motor. File:EdwardStrikesOut87.png|Rocky's first model without the support blocks File:Henry'sLuckyDay41.png|Rocky's second model with the support blocks Rocky had a total of five different facial expressions, one of which an angry face mask was never seen on-screen. The faces were first sculpted in clay and from that resin casts were made of a silicone mould. UnusedAngryRockyFaceMask.jpg|Rocky's unused angry face mask The twelfth series marked the beginning of the show's transition into CGI and the characters' faces were animated through CGI with the aid of motion capture animation. The physical models' molded faces were replaced by white targets with triangles to fix a computer-animated face in post-production. Rocky’s resin faces were only used in background shots. File:SavedYou!22.png File:Don'tGoBack59.png One of Rocky's television series models used to be on display in Canada at Nitrogen Studios. It has been sent back to the UK and was put on display at the 'History of Thomas & Friends' exhibition at the Midland Railway Centre in May 2019. File:StanleyNitrogenStudios.png|Rocky's model at Nitrogen Studios File:RockyModelMidlandRailwayCentre.jpg|Rocky's model at the Midland Railway Centre CGI model In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. Rocky was recreated from scratch in CGI by Nitrogen Studios. His model was "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software. Photographs of Rocky's Gauge 1 model were used for referencing. According to Greg Tiernan, every detail of the original television series models for each character is carefully reproduced in the CGI model. The models are subjected to many rounds of review before they are submitted to HiT Entertainment for final input and approval. Rocky has gone through some changes in the television series: * Hero of the Rails: ** Rocky's face has been lowered down and decreased slightly in size so the top of his face is not obscured by his roofs shadow. * Series 19: ** In the nineteenth series, Rocky gains a tail lamp. File:RockyCGImodelspecifications.png|Rocky's CGI model specifications File:RockyNitrogenOrthoSheet.png File:Rockypromoposter.png File:Rocky.png File:Rockypromo.png File:Rockywhitebackroudpromo.png File:Side-OnRockyPromo.JPG|Side promo Voice Actors * Matt Wilkinson * William Hope * Kunihiro Kawamoto * Gerhart Hinze * Jürgen Uter * Anders Sundstedt * Christian Greger Strøm * Simen Sand * Marco Guerrero * Jarosław Domin * Pedro Bellini * Fernando Castro * Yehonatan Magon * Petteri Hynönen * Jarmo Koski Category:Images of Rocky Category:Images from behind the scenes Category:Behind the Scenes